


Join The Ninja! (Wu promises it's not a gang stop assuming it's a gang)

by Cheruwu



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Backstory, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Headcanon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29285793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheruwu/pseuds/Cheruwu
Summary: A collection of my backstory headcanons for the ninja (not including Lloyd because. we HAVE his backstory haha) This is very very loosely based on the flashbacks we get in the show up to season 13. This fanfic will be split into four sections, starting with Jay, then Cole, then Zane, and finally ending with Kai and Nya, where canon may just be ignored completely whoops :)Get ready for some ANGST followed by FLUFF!! <3
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Part One; Chapter One

_ Chapter warnings: Bullying, Homophobia _

  
  


"Eeyyyy, Walker!" a lanky sophomore called out. He had bleach blond hair, shaved so close at the nape of his neck it was nearly invisible, which made it look like the style started halfway up his head. His name was something like Braedon, or maybe Ashton? Braxton? Another boy leaned against the closest section of wall. Jay regarded them with a wary gaze, gripping his ratty, falling-to-pieces backpack with one hand.

"What do you want?" That had come out nervous- unintentionally; he was going for flat and uninterested. Unfortunately, like some breed of self-esteem consuming rabid dogs, the two boys smirked and pounced on his uncertainty.

"JunkyardBoySaysWhat?"

"What?" Jay said, then instantly berated himself, retreating a little into his shoulders. They cackled loudly, the one on the wall throwing his head back so his hood fell. He lowered his head, locking eyes with Jay, who felt himself beginning to turn red. Wall boy plucked out an earbud and swung the cord, twisting it around a finger.

"Heard a sad story about cha the other day- You're so little and scruffy your parents mistook you for a piece of trash and threw you away."

Jay's face was burning. He needed a comeback, something quick, snappy, mean- something to show how little he cared. Their hair and clothes weren't cheap enough to be a target. Maybe they were bad in class? He didn't know them well enough to pull out a tidbit of information that could strike a nerve. He bit the inside of his cheek, he'd been silent too long already and the moment had passed.

Blond boy elbowed his friend, mock concern warping his expression. "Hey, now, Neil, he's a lil' sensitive guy! You can't just go reminding him of his greatest shame like that, he'll cry!" A hand was offered to Jay, fingers splayed. "You forgive him, right, _ Jayby?" _

__ Jay smacked the hand aside, gritting his teeth. "Piss off, jerkwad. You and Chuckles over there might want to stop listening to nonsense rumors."

Neil stepped away from the wall, still swinging his earbud cord, and leaned, shoving his face inches in front of Jay's. "Mmmm, I think you're right, Clayton. Sensitive guy, kinda a  _ bitch _ . We're just letting you know the gossip, short stack, don't need to throw a fit about it." Neil had glasses, with green plastic frames. The lense caught the sunlight and reflected it directly into Jay's eye, making it hard not to squint.

Broadening his shoulders, Jay stared back at Neil, trying to look as unperturbed and aloof as possible. Neil's eyes flicked around his face, and then he suddenly let out a short laugh. Sticking a thumb on Jay's cheek, he swiped, and then took a look. "Is this-  _ concealer? _ What are you, gay??" Clayton grabbed Neil's hand to look at the smear of makeup and started cracking up.

"Oh my god, dude, he's trying to cover up freckles!" Clayton had tears in his eyes he was laughing so hard.

Jay felt his throat closing up, his mind racing. How could he react? What could he say that wouldn't just give them more ammunition against him? Words failing him, he furrowed his brow and shoved Neil as hard as he could. Neil- screamed?! Jay took several steps back, startled, as Neil fell to the ground and gripped his chest where Jay's hands had been. He looked up, tears of pain in his eyes. Angry. "What the fuck, dude?! Was that a fucking taser?!"   
  
Clayton looked at Jay, disbelief tinged with anger in his face. “That’s fucked up man- you can’t bring those to school.” Jay shook his head, trying to put together an explanation but no words would come out. Clayton ran off, yelling for a teacher.   
  
Niel stood up, still holding one hand to his chest. There was a dark, smoking hole on the other side. Jay, horrified, looked from Neil to his hands, which were unharmed. Like always.   
  
Lightning powers. He’d had them since he was a baby, and was pretty good at controlling them. He’d never used them outside of the junkyard before now.

Suddenly he was pushed and he stumbled backward. He fell, tripping over a rock or something, and smacked his head on the ground. Neil was above him, half blocking the sun, fists clenched. Jay quickly curled up into a protective ball, which turned out to be a great decision, because the next moment Neil was kicking him savagely in the side.    
  
Someone ran up and pulled Neil away, shouting something. As soon as he wasn’t under attack, Jay uncurled, jumped to his feet, and started sprinting. He was skipping last period today. 

  
  
  



	2. Part One; Chapter Two

The piles of trash and metal scrap in the junkyard rose up into the sky. If you squinted they almost looked like the majestic mountains you could find in the more rural parts of Ninjago. To Jay, even without the blurred effect of eyelashes and half-closed eyes, they looked welcoming. He threw open the gate, slammed it shut, and then shut it again when it popped back open. The lock clicked and he sagged against the chain links, only now starting to feel the pain of Neil’s kicks.

“Jay honey, is that you?” his mother’s voice drifted to him from the trailer.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Jay straightened up, adjusting his backpack. She didn’t sound mad, which was good- the school hadn’t called her yet. Hopefully, the whole incident would just blow over. He started to make his way toward the trailer, skirting around piles of junk.

“Did you get out early? It’s not even two.” The trailer door was open, and he could hear the constant wheeze of the beat-up electric fan they had in the kitchen. His mom was probably trying to cool down the inside after baking something.  
  
“Mmhmm. There was a…” he thought up a lie as quickly as he could. “There was an assembly. It wasn’t an important one so I skipped.”  
  
“Are you sure it wasn’t important?” She was sitting on the couch with her checkbook and a pile of envelopes on the arm. His earlier assumption was right- she still had flour on her sleeve.

Jay nodded. “I’ll ask somebody about what happened, too.” He dropped his backpack on the floor next to the door and sat next to his mom on the couch, crossing his legs

“What did you make today?”

“Cookies. We had a package of chocolate chips in the freezer.” Edna said, looking back at her checkbook and making some marks.

“Oooh, can I have one?” Jay leaned back into the couch and started fiddling with his shoelaces.

“After dinner, sweetie. Do you think you could go help your father today? He’s doing some work on the car.” She flipped through the envelopes and picked one up, squinting at it.

Jay nodded. “Is the engine acting up again?”

His mom nodded, adjusting her glasses. “It’s making that weird noise again. He says it’s nothing to worry about but- well, you can never be too careful.”

He unfolded his legs and stood up, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I’ll make sure he fixes it right. Love you!” He gave her a quick hug- she smiled and patted his arm- and then made his way towards the door.  
  
  


His father looked like he was being consumed by the car with only his legs hanging out of the hood. Jay didn’t know what possessed his father to make their car look so… unique- because it made tuning up the engine a pain. It did look kinda cool and from a sci-fi movie though, which seemed to be reason enough for dad.

“Hey, dad. Mom said you needed help?”

The legs lowered onto the ground, and his dad stood up. “Wha?” He had a huge grease splotch on his face and his white hair was disheveled.

“Do you need help with the car?” Jay said, speaking a little louder to make sure he couldn’t be accused of mumbling.

“Aw, not much. I _could_ use a holder of things though, kiddo.” Jay sighed but picked up the toolbox. His dad smiled and ruffled his hair. “I’d be hard-pressed to find such a helpful assistant anywhere else in the city!” Jay couldn’t help but smile back. His father was eaten once again by the car. “Did you get let out of school early today?” Jay shifted his feet, feeling guilt creep into his mind.

“Yeah. Assembly. It wasn’t important so I skipped.” The best way to lie was to keep it simple.

“Hm. Wrench, please.” Jay passed the old wrench to his dad’s outstretched hand.  
  
  


The engine was a hassle and took an entire hour of work for it to be up to snuff. During the latter half of his shift as the holder of things, Jay mostly played games on his phone. It was old and had two big cracks on the screen, but it still worked well enough. He was a fan of puzzle games, ones where the solution wasn’t immediately apparent.

The rest of the day went by without any incident- not even an email from the school. His side aching was the only reminder of what had happened. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to assess how bad the damage was. He was splotched with purple bruises ringed with red. It hurt when he pressed on it. Hopefully, it wouldn't impact him too much tomorrow, or someone might find it.

A thin line of electricity jumped between his index finger and thumb. Dangerous. He _knew_ it was dangerous. Why the hell did he use it? He didn't even think about it, it was so easy. At least his power wasn't something even more destructive, like fire or poison. At least he didn't have super strength, because then he might have hurt Neil even more. At least the running story was that he used a taser.

There was a lump in his throat as he flicked off the bathroom light and trodded to his room. He flopped on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Maybe kids at school would stop messing with him now that they believed he had a weapon. Or maybe they'd just get nastier and keep their distance.

"Jay honey?" It was his mom.

He shifted his head so he could see his door with one eye. She hadn't opened it yet. "Yeah? You can come in."

She did, letting in the harsh light from the hallway. She sat on the edge of his bed- the only place to sit in his small room. "Something happened at school today, right?"

Jay bought his knees to his chest, looking away. "Something always does." How did she always know?

His mom sighed. "There wasn't an assembly today, was there?"

"...No."

Her hand ruffled his hair. It was beginning to return to its default curly state- he'd need to straighten it again tomorrow. Curly hair caught attention in his high school- it wasn't common. "Do you want to talk about it, sweetheart?"

His knees came up higher and he hid his face in his arms. "No. Maybe? They made fun of me being adopted again." His voice wobbled a bit, betraying him. Why did he have to be such a crybaby? "And... and they made fun of the junkyard again. And my freckles."

His mother stood and came around the bed so she could face him, and sat again. She held out her arms- and Jay obliged, hugging her tightly. He could tell she was also crying- which made him cry more. She ran her fingers through his hair and quietly said, "I'm so sorry, Jay. I wish I knew what to do." She'd tried everything- Jay knew that she did. Call after call after call- but there was only so much bullying the teachers could stop in class, and getting specific kids into the principal's office never seemed to do anything. Online school wasn't an option- the junkyard had outages too often and there wasn't a library with internet access nearby. Homeschool required one or both of his parents to have a teaching degree.

For now- he was stuck.


	3. Part One; Chapter Three

He decided not to go to school the next day. It was a Friday, so there’d be three whole days before he’d have to go back, and then things may have cooled down a bit. To avoid his parents asking questions about what happened- he didn’t want to explain how he had used his powers- he hung out on top of a building near the junkyard. It had been abandoned for who knew how long, and it’d been his hideout ever since he’d felt the need for a hideout.

Digging through a box, he pulled out a screw, and then held it up to the two pieces of metal he was trying to connect. Too big- he shoved his hand back in and continued searching.

The roof had been converted into a sort of workshop, full of boxes and cases of random useful bits he had found in the junkyard. He’d even brought up a foldable table and cleaned it off. There were schematics and technical drawings taped to the defunct air conditioner block, and an old movie poster, from the third Star Wars movie. His dad gave that to him when he was 12 and told him to keep it safe, a job he took semi-seriously. He’d taken the care to put a piece of plastic up in front of it so the weather wouldn’t wear it out.  
  
He pulled out another screw- it was still a little chunky for the hole, but he could make it work. He picked up the scrappy electric screwdriver next to him. It didn’t have batteries, but that didn’t matter when you could generate electricity from your hands with no adverse effects.  
  
With a little brute force, the two pieces were connected. Jay set down the screwdriver and bent the pieces back and forth, testing out the bond. “Perfect.” He grinned- his latest project was nearly completed. He just needed to find another length of decent cloth in the junkyard- but that would have to wait until he was 'out of school’.  
  
It wouldn’t hurt to double-check the design _one_ more time, right? Jay grabbed the sheet of paper from the table and examined it closely, singling out each part on the schematic and then making sure it had a partner in the physical world.  
  
“Ah, an inquisitive one I see.” Jay jumped nearly three feet in the air and whipped around, searching for the source of the voice. An old man with a rice hat and a long, flowing white beard stood at the top of the fire escape. He was holding a staff in one hand.  
  
“Wh- How- Who _are_ you?? What are you doing up here???” Jay backed away from the strange newcomer, holding his schematic to his chest.  
  
“To speak with you, Master of Lightning. I am old and require help saving the world nowadays, you see.” The longer he looked the weirder the old man seemed. He was wearing a super old fashion of clothing, something you’d only see in movies or plays today. He was also _ancient-_ Jay couldn’t even begin to count the wrinkles on his face. And that was the face that wasn’t covered by hat or beard.  
  
“Master of- master of _what?_ _Saving the world?_ ” Jay squinted at the old man, clutching his device close to him. “...Are you… like, on drugs??” His voice went an octave higher at the end of his sentence as he tried to convey the amount of confusion he felt.  
  
The old man chuckled and shook his head. “The youth nowadays are lacking in wisdom. Or perhaps the youth have always lacked wisdom because it is their nature, and I am but an ancient relic who has long fallen out of touch with the modern world.”  
  
Jay blinked. Then he backed away as far as he could, holding his scrapped together invention in front of himself like a shield. “Who are you? I want a _real_ answer this time, not some metaphor-psalm-saying BS.”  
  
“Direct. Piercing. Not unlike your element. You can call me Master Wu. I’m here to offer you the opportunity to train under me, within my monastery. There are significant risks of course- but I’m sure you are familiar with adversity. Those with powers so apparent often find it difficult to live peacefully among the rest of society.” The old man said everything so matter-of-factly. Jay was starting to wonder if this was some elaborate practical joke, and glanced around, looking for a hidden camera.  
  
There was a moment of silence where the wind picked up, filling the area with white noise. “You’re… you’re _serious,_ aren’t you?” Jay said in disbelief.  
  
Master Wu grinned. “As the plague.”  
  
“I- I needa sit down,” Jay collapsed onto the upturned edge of the roof, running a hand through his hair. “Are you- inviting me to some kind of _gang_ where people with special powers- like mine... participate in... _things?_ What the heck to gangs even _do?_ ”  
  
Wu shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not inviting you to a gang. I’m inviting you, Master of Lightning- to become a ninja.”

_Oh, no- He's just a crazy old man who's found my secret lab,_ Jay thought, biting his lip. "A _ninja?_ Maybe when you were younger those were more common but ninja today are just... in movies. They don't exist now, Master... Fu?"

"Wu," corrected the old man. He smacked the butt of his staff against the bricks of the building, drawing himself up to his full height. "And yes- Ninja are a thing of the past now. But not for long. I will come again in three days time. Decide." And with that, he turned- and fell off the building. Crying out, Jay ran to the edge.

"Oh, ooohhh my gosh, oh _no, no no no-_ " But as he peered at the ground below- the strange old man was gone. He looked wildly about, and then caught the tail of a long white beard whooshing into an alleyway several yards away from where the old man had fallen. Jay stared after him, speechless, still holding his device limply in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just an itsy bitsy update- I'm essentially working two jobs now! A 'regular' full-time job and doing art commissions part-time. I do like money quite a bit ;)c But this means that I won't be able to post new chapters as quickly because I have very little time to myself nowadays. I'll still be chugging along but if you notice a dip in speed, (or length of chapters haha;;) please be patient with me, I'm trying my best! Anywho, thank you for reading and giving your time to my fanfic and this lil note, and I hope you have a wonderful day! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! Thanks for reading my silly ninjago backstory headcanon fanfic. Please tell me your thoughts in the comments and if you really enjoyed it, a kudos would be immensely appreciated!


End file.
